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Well-known Egyptian-American writer Mona Eltahawy was arrested Tuesday while defacing a pro-Israel ad with spray paint in a New York subway station.

A video published by the New York Post showed the activist spraying the ad at a Times Square subway station while another woman who supported the billboard's content, Pamela Hall, was standing against the wall to prevent her from doing so.

“In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel, defeat Jihad,” read the billboard, which was put up by the anti-Muslim American Freedom Defense Initiative led by Pam Geller.

Eltahawy tweeted that she believes in her right to object to the abusive ad, calling on followers to report on her arrest.

While being handcuffed by police officers, Eltahawy told passers-by to note that she was being arrested despite expressing her objection peacefully.

Eltahawy’s arrest triggered a day of widespread targeting of the controversial ads, according to the newspaper.